My home theater system is in a room about 16x13, that also doubles up as a family room. I currently have an old Sony STR-DE935 5.1 system that I am looking to replace in the summer. It seems to me that going to 7.1 or 7.2 is significant overkill for this space. It is highly unlikely that a new system would go to a larger room, and I imagine I will be still living in this house in 10 years.

My questions are:

Given how popular and praised the Onkyo TX-NR709 is, do I go with that regardless and use it as a 5.1 system, or instead go with an equivalent 5.1?

Or am I mistaken and a 7.2 system in a room that size isn't like swatting flies with cannon balls?

Any 7.1 or 9.1 receiver will work as a 5.1 speaker setup you just wont be using the extra channels and the auto setup will turn off unused amps. That said the 709 is a stellar choice and will be a great improvement over your current Sony.
7.1 is nice to have if you dont have the seating directly against the rear wall or have two rows of seating.

My home theater system is in a room about 16x13, that also doubles up as a family room. I currently have an old Sony STR-DE935 5.1 system that I am looking to replace in the summer. It seems to me that going to 7.1 or 7.2 is significant overkill for this space. It is highly unlikely that a new system would go to a larger room, and I imagine I will be still living in this house in 10 years.

My questions are:

Given how popular and praised the Onkyo TX-NR709 is, do I go with that regardless and use it as a 5.1 system, or instead go with an equivalent 5.1?

Or am I mistaken and a 7.2 system in a room that size isn't like swatting flies with cannon balls?

Hello,
I personally am running a 5.2 HT. Using dual subwoofers really helps smooth out Room Acoustics and needless to say provides you more impact. That being said, I would certainly advocate 1 really high quality subwoofer over 2 mediocre ones.

The 709 would be a great choice. A corollary to it being a 7 Channel AVR is that when running only 5 Channels, you will have more power for the speakers connected. Moreover, almost all AVR's are now at least 7 Channels with 5 being almost universally reserved for the absolute Entry Level. At the upper end, many AVR's are actually 9 Channels so 7 is somewhat the norm.
Cheers,
JJ

I agree you should go with the 709 and you can use the 5.1 and if you choose to add more speakers later you already have the advantage of just adding to the system .
I do not think it is over kill it will just sound better even when you listen at lower levels.

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